The Myanmar Attorney General’s Office (UAGO) has held the first-ever state and regional level training on fair trial standards, with the participation of 30 regional, district and township law officers.
The training, held in Bago region, was organized by the UAGO with support from IDLO and UNDP. It covered International Fair Trial Principles, such as equality and non-discrimination, due process, and prohibitions against arbitrary detention and official misconduct, as embodied in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as well as relevant Myanmar laws and procedure.
‘This is the first time we have organized training at the state or regional level, instead of bringing trainees to (the capital) Nay Pyi Taw,’ said Daw Lwin Lwin Than, Director of Training at the Union Attorney General’s Office. He encouraged participants to make full use of the training opportunity and share their experiences relating to fair trial issues in Bago region.
Participants explored concepts such as presumption of innocence, burden of proof and discriminatory application of the law and discussed the practical application of fair trial principles in the workplace.
The Advocate General for Bago region, U Ohn Myint, and Regional Law Officer, U Tin Oo, participated as observers.
U Ohn Myint urged the UAGO Training Department, IDLO and UNDP to conduct more training in Bago region for law officers, as well as for the Myanmar police force and judges from different courts, to “increase justice sector coordination” and so that they could “make (the) necessary changes to (boost) public trust and confidence.”
The event was the first in a series of state and regional level courses, which will include Kayah, Kayin, Mon, Magway, Mandalay, and Shan, in July and August 2016.
The training in Bago also marked the launch of a comprehensive institutional Training Needs Assessment by the UAGO, with the start of state- and regional-level data collection. The Training Needs Assessment is seen as the first step towards achieving the UAGO’s goal of modernizing its training program, in line with evolving needs and priorities during the transitional period in Myanmar.